With the advent of the minivan we knew that the 1997 Plymouth Neon that I've had for 13 years would need to find a new home.
As we took the keys off our keychains we both had a twinge of regret. It had been the BEST little car for us for all of those years. This was also the first car I ever bought with my own money. The first car that was ever in my name. The car that brought me across the country filled with my belongings.(in both the trunk and back seat)
It was the car Derek left flowers on while we were courting. The car I was driving in when I discovered that our country had been attacked by terrorists on September 11,2001.
The car I placed a flag sticker and "Captain America stars" on in a sign of solidarity and patriotism in the aftermath of those attacks.
The car that took me all over Utah county ( and that I filled up for $13) while I went on the scavenger hunt Derek planned for me the day he proposed. The car that continued to chug along for us after Derek's car decided to succumb to it's possession and go crazy. (That crazy car once literally locked Derek inside and wouldn't let him out until it stopped running) It had been with us for the entirety of our courtship and marriage.
Putting it outside on the street and watching it get covered in snow
Felt a lot like this.
( Do you see how the old lamp was red and the new lamp was white even!! Too much!!)
Sure it had it's quirks, it was in fact 15 years old. Like the radio volume control had a mind of it's own. You could turn it and turn it and it would decide when it would go up...or down depending on it's mood.
It's speedometer would also work or not work depending on it's mood. So the odometer was also off as it would not advance when the speedometer wasn't working. We figure that it probably had around 150,000 miles but we couldn't be completely sure. We'd decided that it wasn't worth it to charge up the air conditioning since the charge would only last a summer. Only one of the three keys we had would start the ignition. The others would lock the steering column and the key wouldn't come out. The funky crazy upholstery that was even funky crazy when I bought it.
It was even on the doors too.
But it looked like the sports car the insurance company claimed it was inside and out ( before the finish began peeling off )when you cleaned it up and it was stone cold reliable and cheap to fix if anything went wrong which was rare.
And it is a stick shift!! I love driving stick shifts. You felt like a race car driver when you drove one. Can you buy regular cars with a stick shift anymore?
When I sat in it for the last time to say goodbye...I literally started to cry. I blame pregnancy hormones. She's off on her own now. I hope she remembers who she is and what she stands for.
3 comments:
Three Men and a Janie said...
You cannot forget that this car took you where no car had gone before, to Dutchman's Flat for a camping trip. We've driven that road since, and I still can't believe you guys made it in a car!!
Sunny said...
Oh my Gosh Janie! I totally forgot about that!! I can't believe we made it either. Must have been divine intervention! :)
Pam said...
What a great car! You will probably never have a more reliable one. It is full of history. :)